The castle stood in the middle of the city, towering over the other buildings. Its walls were mostly white, while its roof was made of some light-green material. It was so huge, you could see it no matter where you were in the city.
And while it wasn’t quite as tall as the protective walls around the capital, it too was surrounded by a sturdy rampart. Inside were the knights’ barracks, training grounds, storage houses, and all sorts of other structures completely removed from the lives of the average citizen.
In addition to the rampart was the Royal Knights and their flawless security. With their thorough defenses, the castle would surely be kept safe from any siege.
“Hey!” said Therion, rudely calling out to Elizario as he looked up at the castle.
“Yes, what is it?”
“You lot are gonna be keeping Claira in here, right? But who the hell’s to say it’s safe?”
Therion was right. If someone had infiltrated the palace, she could be in danger. In fact, her kidnapping had been carried out by someone who had infiltrated the empire’s inner circle. No matter how staunch their defenses, they’d be useless if a demon or one of their conspirators had already made their way inside.
Despite this, Elizario responded calmly. “You have nothing to worry about. That fear is exactly why we summoned Lloyd from Ishtar.”
“Huh?! And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Why, you haven’t heard? Lloyd can distinguish between demons, humans, and beastmen via his detection magic.”
“Huh?!” Therion glared at me, as if to say, Explain yourself!
“Well, that’s true, but...” This was strange. Why did they need me? Any mage in the kingdom could do the same, and if they couldn’t trust just one person to do it, they could employ multiple, then compare the results. They had no reason to need me specifically. “Why do I have to do it?”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, someone else could do it, couldn’t they? You could hire a skilled mage. There are plenty of them.”
“Well, um...” Elizario was at a loss for words, which only made me confused.
That’s when Yui let out an exasperated sigh and placed a hand on my shoulder.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Y’know, Lloyd, no one else can tell species apart using detection magic. You’re the exception.”
Now I was even more confused. When using detection magic, it was pretty easy to determine what species each signal was coming from. Master Merlin acted like it was nothing, and even Lily, who was pretty bad with detection magic and could only use it over small areas, said she could at least determine the species of the few signals she could detect.
“No, anyone who can use detection magic should be able to—”
“Sure, others can use detection magic, but there aren’t even very many of them—especially those who can cast it over a few kilometers! In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one, Lloyd. I was just too shocked you found demons to be surprised that last time.”
“No, wait a second. Even my old master could...” My head was spinning. No one had ever mentioned this when I was still with the Hero’s party, and growing up, I had always been told it was completely normal. In Master Merlin’s circle, it was.
So, wait... It wasn’t normal?
“Hey!” shouted Therion.
“Y-Yes?”
“That true?” he asked, his eyes locked on me in disbelief.
“Y-Yeah. I can determine the species of the signals I’m sensing, at least. But determining specific identities requires a different process, so that’s a bit difficult.”
“Got it.” Apparently, that was enough to satisfy Therion. He didn’t ask any more questions.
“Yes, that’s the situation. Considering the circumstances of Princess Claira’s kidnapping, we’ve fully contemplated the possibility of an inside assault. However, we had no means of determining the species of those working here. That’s when we received word from Abel that he had discovered a white mage capable of doing so.”
“Huh, so that’s how it is...” I muttered.
“Exactly. While we can’t fully ignore the possibility the demons have human conspirators, we’ll simply have to cover for that by placing her in the hands of those we can trust.”
“Yes, you’re right...” Suddenly, a question popped into my mind. I never reported anything about my detection magic to Abel, and since I thought it was normal, I had never even considered stressing that capability. Could Yui and the others have reported to him without me knowing?
Despite these doubts, there wasn’t a need to bring it up now, so I decided to save it for later.
“In any case, as soon as we enter the castle, I’d like you to immediately check the species of a few of our men. Would that be all right?”
“S-Sure. Will do.” Immediately, I cast my detection magic on the knights here with us and confirmed they were all human. Then, we stepped inside the castle.
✦ ✦ ✦
The palace was filled with lavish decoration and ostentation, even more so than Abel’s manor had been. The number of servants was beyond comparison too. In fact, I saw so many, just knowing I’d have to thoroughly cast detection magic on every single one later was enough to leave me feeling completely overwhelmed. I was likely in for an all-nighter—maybe more.
Anyway, with that depressing thought on my mind, we arrived at an especially opulent reception room. The throne and the red carpet were highly decorative, but most impressive were the walls. Elizario had explained this to us in advance, but they were apparently made using an exceptionally sturdy ore. Here, the king’s excellence was astonishingly palpable.
“W-Wow...” Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. The walls and luxurious decoration had Daggers and the others feeling nervous as well. I guess that was only natural.
Claira and Therion alone seemed unperturbed.
“Nostalgic, isn’t it?” muttered Claira, as if she were looking for agreement. But naturally, none of us could offer her that. In fact, we couldn’t even speak.
Therion, on the other hand, didn’t look surprised at all. If anything, he seemed completely disinterested.
After a short while, Elizario and a number of knights returned to the reception room. “I understand it may be sudden, but His Majesty would like to meet with you all immediately. Have you mentally prepared yourselves?”
“I-I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, me too.”
We had yet to calm our nerves, but we couldn’t keep the king waiting forever.
As if awaiting this answer, a dignified, clearly king-like, middle-aged man promptly entered. Despite his age, his body was toned. He also seemed like the uncle-type, but in a good way.
In his left hand was a staff even taller than he was, which he clanked against the floor as he approached the throne.
So, this was the king of the Fuhlen Kingdom.
“Greetings. I am Greador Basileus, and while being the king of this land does not make me capable of using unique magic like the imperial princess, I’d like to extend my gratitude for accepting this sudden, dangerous quest and delivering her to us unharmed. You have my deepest thanks. Accordingly, I have increased your reward, so please do accept it later,” said King Greador, bowing his head. “Thus concludes your quest to guard Claira. However... This is simply a personal request—no, think of it as a private hope of mine—but would you be willing to stay here in the capital for the time being?”
The king stressed that this wasn’t an order, but a plea. In other words, he wished for us to stay here in Sylfes so that we could rush to Claira’s aid if anything were to happen while they harbored her. If we agreed, he’d likely prepare lodgings at an inn for us, or perhaps a small house for our party alone. Considering we were already thinking we’d work in the capital for a while, this was perfect.
“Is it really okay to accept all this kindness from you?” asked Yui. She was naturally feeling a bit guilty, even if she was pleased with the offer.
“Why, of course it is. It seems we’ll be in Sir Lloyd’s debt for a while, after all.”
Ah, so that’s how it was. This wasn’t free, but it was still a bargain. No way could we turn it down. Thus, we were bestowed an exorbitant sum of gold, numerous rare weapons, and a place to stay as the reward for our quest.
“Good luck, then, Lloyd!”
“Yup, we’re rooting for you!”
“I know you’ll do your best out there!”
Yui, Cross, and Silica gave me some encouraging, parting words. Then, I was off to my detection magic job from hell.
“Well, those guys are just excited and tired from our long journey. Cut them some slack, okay?” Daggers, alone, apologized.
“No, it’s fine. I’m used to this sort of thing.”
“You mean that ‘master’ of yours again?”
I nodded.
“I see. Still, even if you are, don’t push yourself, okay?”
“Right.” Thus, I was off to search through what was easily over a hundred servants, and even more knights.